Thursday, 21 December 2017

EU court declares Uber a transport company not a digital service

European Union’s
top court ruled today that the ride-sharing platform Uber is a transport
service and should be regulated similar to taxi operators. The company claimed
it is a digital service and should pay lighter taxes as other e-commerce
businesses.

Uber launched in 2011 and currently operates
in about 600 cities and regions in the world, with more than 60 of them being
in the EU. The European Court of Justice says the service provided by Uber “is
covered by services in the field of transport” and should be treated by member
states as such.

The case follows a complaint from taxi unions
in Spain that claimed UberPOP service was an unfair competition and since have
been suspended in the South-European countries, as well as other major EU
cities.

According to the ECJ, Uber “exercises
decisive influence over the conditions in which drivers provide their service,”
as in non-app citizens can’t use the service, therefore Uber is gaining an
unfair advantage. The decision will not affect Uber’s operations immediately, a
spokeswoman for the company confirmed.